aesc | reading

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Blurb:

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

This is probably my favorite genre these days - magical realism. The book had quite a lot to say about becoming immortal and the different ways of doing that. Addie is not remembered by anyone she meets, but if she spends enough time with a person (meeting them over and over for the first time), she gradually imprints herself into their art/inspiration. She has to treat everyone that she meets as if they have dementia, explaining herself each time. And a bit like Groundhog Day, she has centuries to perfect certain skills, such as languages. I enjoyed the book a lot, but I didn't fall in love with it.

mood grumpy
music Skunk Anansie - You Saved Me

siria

The spring here has been the most miserable, wet, dreary one I can remember experiencing in a while—which is saying something coming from someone from Ireland. God, I just looked out the window and it's raining again. I needed gloves while cycling home today, and it's the middle of May.

I had the lovely/aging experience of hearing from a student whom I taught in my first few years here, who is going to defend his own doctorate in history next month and will be starting a tenure-track job (something now as rare as hen's teeth) next academic year. I'm delighted for him, because he's super smart and had a very rough start in life, but oof, I feel old! Time passes.

I'm still digesting the news that PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is now PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome). ( Cut for discussion of my own experiences )

I watched the "third season" of Good Omens via means that gave no revenue to That Individual. ( General spoilers behind the cut )

sage

( books (Wells x 11, Condemi & Savatier, Wyman, Mukherjee, Chakraborty) )

healthcrap
Left hand is so borked. Allergies are worse than ever. Still not resting.

yarning
some lovely someone bought out nearly all my remaining cat-shaped ornaments today. And another lovely someone commissioned a purple bunny. I've rested the hand for a month, so maybe I can do this.

#resist
June 27: the next #50501 protest

I hope you're all doing well! <333

mrkinch

When I arrived the weather looked good, but when the sun came up, the fog came in. It's supposed to go the other way! Anyway, it was sufficiently unpleasant that I turned back at the corner rather than continue through the bit of trail that gets the worst wind. Between the weather and the shortened route the list is some ten species shorter than the last one. No one specially interesting showed up. I briefly heard one MacGillivray's Warbler and again quite a few Lazuli Buntings. Lots of Purple Finches singing, an Olive-sided Flycatcher was calling, and the Northern Flicker was again drumming on the tower. ( The list: )

No raptors out on a morning like this one. Friday looks better so I'll try again then.

mrkinch

We took our annual drive through Del Puerto and while there were several amazing moments, I at least was a little disappointed. Didn't help that it was very hot, which kills my energy, and very dry so that places that have been birdy were not. There've always been changes year to year, but since last May someone tore out the admittedly long-failed orchards along the east end of the road that were the only trees for miles. We saw seven Western Kingbirds, expected in years past, now with nowhere to nest. We assume they moved on to a better location. A little further on we had our first amazing moments. We stopped near some cottonwoods, by the creek of course, heard singing, and found a pair of remarkably chill Rufus-crowned Sparrows. I don't think any of us had ever has as good or as long a view of this species. A real treat. At Owl Rock we saw two fully-grown Great Horned Owl chicks in one of the Rock's many caves, but nothing else up there this year. At two places where we always stop we saw single Lewis' Woodpeckers, very exciting since there had been no reports of them along Del Puerto or San Antonio Road this Spring, and last year we saw none. The pond near the Junction was very low with only a family of American Coots swimming around, but we could hear the Tri-color Blackbirds in the reeds. What a grating call they have! We got our Lawrence's Goldfinches for the trip in Frank Raines picnic area and also in the campground. I did not see them, but I heard their wonderful, tinkley song. We drove out San Antonio Road as always, but the creek we had fun at last year had dried up and we saw nothing anywhere along the road. ( The list )

We may schedule our trip a few weeks earlier next year.

mrkinch

Yesterday on the Trail would have been great; today was not, fog on the ground and sun alternating all morning. Western Wood-pewee! and the Ash-throated Flycatcher again, so all four expected Flycatchers have arrived. Good Warblers, too, not only the summer residents but a Townsend's, three McGillivray's, and two Northern Yellow Warblers! TIL that the Yellow Warbler and Lazuli Bunting songs have a lot in common, at least to my ear, but merlin kept suggesting Northern Yellow Warbler and eventually I figured out what it was hearing. Sometimes merlin is actually helpful. Surprise of the morning was one Bullock's Oriole song. A single song is not necessarily enough, but it was so clear and distinctive that I did report it. ( The list: )

The downed tree had indeed been cleared away. By the foliage I would have called it a very healthy oak and I don't recall any particular wind (it's down in a protected spot anyway) so I wonder why the trunk snapped like that.

trobadora

highadrenalineexchange (HA) author reveals happened, and I can finally talk about this! *deep breath*

I wrote a whole sci-fi novella! And I had so much fun with this, and I'm really proud of the result. :D

The requested relationship was "Young King Warring With Rival/Famed Older Knight Who Was Betrayed By Rival", and my recipient was open to a variety of different genres and settings. But they said "space opera" in their request, and I went, "YES, THAT, I'M DOING THAT," and then spent the next week or so in a haze of worldbuilding and note-taking and snippet-writing.

HA has a very short creation period - only two weeks for a 10k story - so after that I pulled together a first complete draft. But I couldn't stop writing more, and worldbuilding more. Happily, there were several delays, so I was able to extend the story to double the word count, which IMO also improved it considerably. *g*

One of the most fun things about worldbuilding, for me, is hinting at all the things that aren't on screen, to make it look like a proper lived-in world - and to show how the world they live in shapes and impacts the characters, beyond the immediate plot. And I had SUCH a blast with all of that here! I'm definitely going to talk more about this in another post, but for now, here is the story - if it sounds at all like your kind of thing, I'd really love it if you gave it a chance:

**

Title: Zhentari's Choice
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 21,458
Relationship: Young King Warring With Rival/Famed Older Knight Who Was Betrayed By Rival
Characters: Younger King, Older Knight, Rival Would-be King
Content Tags: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Space Royalty, Space Politics, Political Manoeuvring, Betrayed to the Enemy, Code of Ethics, Sci-Fi Philosophies, Age Difference, Enemies to Lovers, Loyalty Issues, Power Dynamics, Consensual Sex, Refractory Period Manipulation, Multiple Orgasms
A/N: Many thanks to

china_shop for beta-reading!

Summary:

"Do what is necessary. Only the gods know what is truly necessary, but you must choose.
Do what suits the purpose. You have not the hindsight of the gods, but you must choose.
Do what is appropriate. You have not the measuring-stick of the gods, but you must choose.
Do what you must, Zhentari, and know your choice."

(The "Three Choices", according to the Zhentar Code)

Jolim Niall, famous Zhentar Knight (or infamous, depending on your position), has been in service to Tevin Appen of Trella for most of his life. When he falls into the hands of the King of Tarn, he's not sure which is worse: what Ayrom Gaudren no doubt has in store for him - or that it's Appen's betrayal that landed him there.

But Gaudren's plans aren't what he expects - and Jolim Niall must make a choice ...

mrkinch

I got another nice, late start and walked up Laurel Canyon almost to the junction with Pine Tree Trail, turned back by lingering mud. I could have passed, but I would have had to do in again in reverse, so I decided to wait a week. Should be dry by then. There was a Western Wood-pewee calling in the usual place on Loop Road and at least four Olive-sided Flycatchers along the road and up the Canyon. There was a Western Tanager calling and even singing, and while I heard many Swainson's Thrush calls, I twice heard one sing. They haven't really gotten started yet. ( The list: )

The Northern Flickers seem not to have taken up residence in the lovely hole they were investigating last week. Dang.

siria

why not instead love
ER | Benton/Corday, Benton/Carter | ~4500 words | Thanks to

sheafrotherdon for betaing.

(Also on AO3)

( Elizabeth Corday takes the path less travelled. (AU from S4) )

seleneheart

1. What do you consider your current main fandom? (This can include hobbies and collecting. Anything you feel fannish about!)
The fandom I currently buy the most merch for is Legend of Zelda. Not just the games, but T-shirts, figurines, skins, for example. The main fandom I write for is due South - the Seekrit Santa is about the only thing I write these days. I suppose books are a fandom - in the last year and a half I've come back to reading in a big way. I belong to both on-line and in-person book clubs.

2. What was your first fandom?
Probably Star Wars but the first one I interacted with online was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, back on the forums.

3. Do you have any favorite headcanons or fan theories?
Arya Stark is not the one who killed the Night King.

4. Have you ever created fanworks?
LOL, yes. *gestures at my entire journal*

5. Are you still active in any old fandoms?
due South is pretty damn old, although I didn't come to it until much later. As for old-to-me fandoms, I definitely continue to read fanfic and follow posts about them on places like Tumblr.

mood indescribable
music Taylor Swift - I Could Be Nothing

mrkinch

No fog, just medium clouds that gave way to sun about 9 am, so a lovely morning. I thought I was going to make fifty species, but not quite. There are always a few expected species that take a day away. As well, there was a tree down across the trail near the north end, and while people had made a way around it, said way was steeply slanted down the embankment and not something I was willing to try. I did send a photo to EBMUD, which they thanked me for, so perhaps the way will be cleared by my next visit. Several Great Horned Owls were hooting pre-dawn, an Olive-sided Flycatcher was calling all morning, and there was an Ash-throated Flycatcher somewhere sounding like a police whistle, but the morning's soundtrack was Lazuli Bunting. They were singing everywhere along the trail. I expect one at the corner and one in the North, but this was amazing. Again I found a Hermit and a Townsend's Warbler together in a (different) smallish oak in the N, possibly the same individuals, and the only MacGillivray's of the morning was there, too. There were also a few interesting flyovers, not only Double-crested Cormorant and my first Caspian Tern of the summer (these fish in the reservoirs while nesting on the Bay) but a Great Blue Heron that flew directly towards me before veering off to the South. Gosh, they're big. ( The list: )

I'm fairly sure I heard a Western Wood-pewee, but only once so I didn't report it. I think they are the only regularly breeding species I'm still waiting for.

sage

books
The Jeeves Omnibus Vol. 3: (I'm interspersing the Jeeves & Wooster novels with the rest of what I'm reading.)
Ring for Jeeves (1953). OMG such idiots. Not even Jeeves can redeem this. (I kind of despise gambling, sorry?)
The Mating Season (1949). Delightful beginning. Tedious middle (Bertie, you ass). Good, if brief ending.
Very Good, Jeeves! (1930). More vintage, not historical, Jeeves and Wooster. This is a collection of short stories, most very charming.

Wyndham & Banerjee #1: A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee. 2016. Really satisfying in terms of setting: the colonial India is vivid and fascinating. The plot is kind of a mess, complete with monologing villain. But I'll read the next one happily.

The Wild Atlantic Murders #1: The Clew Bay Detectives by Pam Lecky. 2026. ARC. ( gah )

Wyndham & Banerjee #2: A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee. 2017. I love the setting so much! There was a bit more literal running back and forth than was completely necessary here, and the opium subplot is appropriately skeevy, but I loved all the women and really appreciated the ending. Looking forward to the next one.

Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From by Tony Joseph. 2018. Brilliant, if very slightly outdated wrt the prehistoric DNA research.

Wyndham & Banerjee #3: Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee. 2018. So good!! Nearly a perfect novel.

next up: rereading all of Murderbot bc I don't remember where things left off before Rapport.

healthcrap
Wrapped the wrist-thumb joint in kinesio tape, since I can't find where I put the thumb brace. Fibro is flaring & I'm way too sore. Still sleeping 12 hrs a night and not resting. /impatient to feel better.

I hope you're all doing well! <333

trobadora

Via

china_shop:

This week I'm reading: the new Murderbot book (came out today)! I'm also rereading Memory (from Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga).

My favorite book of all time is: I'm with

china_shop here: "Completely impossible! I can't even name a favourite author."

My current favorite book (read or re-read in the last 3 months) is: I just yesterday finished rereading Mirror Dance (from Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga) and remembered how much I love that one!

The last book I bought was: volume 3 of the German translation of Guardian by priest, in a gorgeous hardcover edition.

The first book I bought with my own money was: I'm sure I bought some book or other as soon as I had enough pocket money. How am I supposed to remember that?!

The first book I received as a gift was: I must have been a toddler, how should I know?!

The last book I received as a gift was: I can't even answer this one, LOL. I don't get a lot of gifts, and even if I did, I wouldn't really want books. Book recommendations, definitely! But - how do I explain this? I love books; I read a lot. And I have a long, long list of things I want to read at some point - but what I don't have is enough time or energy to get to most of it any time soon. I can't even manage to consistently keep up with my favourite series these days, and am many, many instalments behind. So I prioritise pretty ruthlessly. I read new things when I have energy for them; I pick out exactly what appeals in that moment. And I'd feel pretty bad leaving a gift book just lying around indefinitely until I eventually get to it.

The last book I borrowed from the library was: IIRC the Judge Dee books by Robert van Gulik, a while ago, for a binge-reread. I used to carry huge stacks of books to and fro all the time, and now (see above) I can't find enough time to get to much any more.

The book physically closest to me right now is: the fifth volume of the Perry Rhodan hardcover edition.

This or that:
Physical book, e-book, or audio: physical book for comfortable rereading, ebook for trying new things or for fanfic canon revision. Never audio; I can't do audio, my attention will drift immediately. (I'm not sure if that's because it's audio, or simply because the speed is so much lower than my reading speed, it's like reading in slow motion. Also, I don't have the spare time!)
Used, new, or fell off the back of the internet: any way I can get my hands on what I want to read
Fiction or non-fiction: mainly fiction
Read at a coffee shop or at the park: neither; I do read when out and about, but that's generally just rereads of things I've read many times before, where I don't mind reading it in snatches. Otherwise, I want to comfortably settle down at home for a proper reading session. (I usually don't like reading things bit by bit! All in one go if at all possible is my preferred method for most fiction.)
Paperback or hardcover: paperbacks are so much easier to handle! I really only get hardcovers for collecting reasons, and that exceedingly rarely.
Romance or Crime: Crime! I like romance in combination with other things, but on its own it doesn't often work for me. Whereas crime fiction is fun in its own right.

Yes or no:
Literary fiction? yes
Sci-fi/fantasy? my one true love! (sci-fi more than fantasy)
Poetry? yes!
Memoirs? hardly ever
Philosophy? yes
Thrillers? absolutely
Chronicles? not sure what that means here
Travel logs? not really
Dialogue heavy? sure, why not

mrkinch

It was just me this morning under partly cloudy skies. I would have been happier with more sun but there was a lot of activity, many Wilson's and Orange-crowned Warblers, and more Swainson's Thrushes and Western Flycatchers than last time. I walked North on Lower Packrat through several pockets of Wilson's Warblers, possibly families, and sat by Jewel Lake for a while. No ducks today, but I did hear an Olive-sided Flycatcher "pipping" in the distance. I returned by walking a bit up Loop Road and turning down Jewel Lake Trail back towards the Little Farm in hopes of finding a Northern House Wren in that area as I did recently, but no luck. ( The list: )

So no terrific excitement, but I did hear a California Scrub-jay in that area for the first time in a while.:)

siria

Hungry Heart
The Pitt | Jack/Robby | ~17,900 words | Set post-season 2. Thanks to

sheafrotherdon for betaing.

(Also on AO3)

( Esther looked at him steadily for a long moment, and then took her glasses off. 'And you think this <i>isn't</i> a therapy question, Michael?' (After the Fourth of July, Robby grapples with making a new path forward, with Jack at his side.) )

trobadora

A plaque from Reichenbach Falls with German, English and French text reading, 1891-1991. At this fearful place, Sherlock Holmes vanquished Professor Moriarty, on 4 May 1891.

135 years ago today, on 4 May 1891, Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty met their end at the Reichenbach Falls.

Until ACD changed his mind, of course. But it starts here, at the end: the very first we ever hear of Moriarty is the story in which he dies, which is also the story meant to kill off Holmes.

All those years later, the story is still alive, and keeps on going. :D

Happy Reichenbach Day! ♥

Btw, did I mention that I watched the new Young Sherlock show in March? I quite enjoyed it, though it didn't really hit me in the Sherlockian place. Neither its Sherlock nor its Moriarty quite gave me what I want from those characters, though I find it hard to explain how. At any rate, they're very fun characters to follow as they are, so I'm glad I watched!

I also really appreciate that the show has a prominent Chinese character and a whole bunch of scenes with Mandarin dialogue, much of which I could actually follow reasonably well. Xiao Wei and her sidekick Liu Meiyi are an absolute delight, I'd watch a whole show just about them. *g*

And all the Holmes family dynamics were really great; every single person got their chance to properly shine. Such a good ensemble cast! I'm definitely looking forward to season 2, even without the Chinese characters, who seem unlikely to return.

siria

That Duke Ellington Guy
ER | Carter, Gen | ~1600 words | Episode tag for 1.11, 'The Gift'. Thanks to

sheafrotherdon for audiencing.

(Also on AO3)

( 'I never thought to talk to her about music. I don't even know anything about music.' Carter, and Mary Cavanaugh, and her legacy. )

trobadora

I've been commenting a bit over at

polyamships's NSFW 3 weeks 4 dreamwidth posts, and I thought I'd bring some of that over here, because I had more to talk about that wasn't about poly, but more about writing in general.

On the "current favorite poly ship" question I mentioned a ship that's been on my mind all through April - an original trio from an old origfic WIP I last worked on in 2018, and that took over significant parts of my brainspace again this April.

I'd been reading through my old origfic WIPs because March was the month when I suddenly had a lot of inspiration again for the sort of thing I used to write a lot of, back when I regularly wrote origfic - and then this one really hit me hard again.

The basic concept is a clan feud coming to an end when one side is brought down by a third party, and what happens between the survivors and their former enemies. The ship is a V, with siblings from one side and the third from the other. (Side question: am I the only one around here who likes V-shaped ships? They seem to be pretty unpopular in fandom.)

I wrote a significant chunk of this in 2017 and early 2018, and then didn't touch it again until 1st April this year, for reasons I'm not entirely clear on, though falling into Guardian and cdramas in general probably played a part. *g* I have almost 60k now - but I guess if I ever do finish it in any meaningful way, it'll probably be at least 200k. What I have at the moment is basically the minidrama version: all the dramatic interpersonal moments; everything else more or less sketched in. To pull it off to full effect would take a lot of work! And maybe one day I'll manage that work - I do want to; I just don't have the time or energy I'd need. But in the meantime I've been having a lot of fun just adding more to that world and those characters' arcs.

I mean, really, a LOT of fun. My writing in April looked like this:

Writing stats April 2026: FFFX 12.82%, High Adrenaline 47.84%, poly OW 38.87%, other 0.46%

Writing stats April 2026: FFFX 12.82%, High Adrenaline 47.84%, poly OW 38.87%, other 0.46%

It's a very rare month when my writing is so concentrated on so few stories! But I had two unrevealed exchange stories to work on, where extensions gave me a lot more time to expand, rewrite, edit and improve - that got a lot of my focus. And then the rest of my brainspace got taken over by that WIP.

And then I was wondering how often that sort of thing happens to other people. So here's a poll for you:

Poll #34550

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 17

View Respondents

What's the longest time you stopped working on a WIP before getting back to it?

View Answers

less than 1 year
2 (12.5%)

1-2 years
3 (18.8%)

3-5 years
5 (31.2%)

6-10 years
1 (6.2%)

11-20 years
5 (31.2%)

more than 20 years
0 (0.0%)

What's your longest time between starting and finishing a story?

View Answers

less than 1 year
2 (12.5%)

1-2 years
4 (25.0%)

3-5 years
5 (31.2%)

6-10 years
1 (6.2%)

11-20 years
4 (25.0%)

more than 20 years
0 (0.0%)

How often do you get back to older WIPs?

View Answers

never - I finish it at once or not at all
3 (17.6%)

rarely
8 (47.1%)

often - I regularly poke at old WIPs, and finish some on occasion
6 (35.3%)

always - I never abandon anything for good
2 (11.8%)

it's more complicated than that (see comments
1 (5.9%)

I just want to tick a tickybox!

View Answers

ticky
9 (75.0%)

box
7 (58.3%)

tickybox
8 (66.7%)

mood thoughtful

seleneheart

Now that we are in the second round, and I don't have to stress about the Stars anymore, here is what I want to see for the Stanly Cup Final:

It should be obvious why I want this result - despite other connections, there's only one thing these teams truly have in common.

The Wild have the tougher road to get to this place, so I doubt my hope will pan out. *sigh*

mood bouncy
music Sjowgren - High Beam

manual posting in

dreamwidthlayouts

Title: Nadine v.2
Credit to:

pagans
Base style: Tabula Rasa
Type: CSS
Best resolution: 1024x768 and higher
Tested in: firefox, chrome
Features: minimalist, single column, DIY background if desired

( installation )

Profile

aesc

December 2012

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31

Page Summary

Style Credit

Style: Plain for Tabula Rasa

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated May. 15th, 2026 08:02 pm

in that sweet and peaceful rest

reading

Book Bingo: O2 | Ebook or Audiobook | The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

2622 / Miscellany

What I'm Doing Wednesday

5/13/2026 Inspiration Trail

5/11/2026 Del Puerto Canyon

5/10/2026 Inspiration Trail

FIC: Zhentari's Choice (Original Space Opera: m/m) [Explicit]

5/9/2026 Loop Road and Laurel Canyon

2621 / Fic - ER

The Friday Five: Fandom

5/6/2026 Inspiration Trail

What I'm Doing Wednesday

Book meme

5/4/2026 Lower Packrat & Jewel Lake Trail

2620 / Fic - The Pitt

It's the day!

2619 / Fic - ER

Writing, WIPs and

Stanley Cup Playoffs Thoughts

nadine v.2 for tabula rasa

Profile

December 2012

Links

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags